Notary public Hong Kong: how to find and check a notary

A notary public in Hong Kong is a solicitor who has also been appointed by the High Court to prepare and authenticate documents for use outside Hong Kong. If a foreign bank, court, registry or consulate asks for a document to be “notarised”, this is the professional you need. Before you book, check the name on the Law Society’s List of Notaries Public, and ask the receiving authority whether it also wants an apostille.

What a notary does

The Hong Kong Society of Notaries says a notary public is primarily concerned with preparing and authenticating documents for use abroad. A notary identifies themselves on each document with an individual seal. That seal is registered with the High Court of Hong Kong and with many foreign consulates, and the Society says most other countries treat it as important evidence that a document is genuine.

The authority that will receive your document decides what it accepts. Ask it in writing what it needs, for example a notarial certificate, an apostille, or legalisation by a consulate, before you instruct anyone.

Notary, solicitor or China-appointed attesting officer

These are separate appointments. A current solicitor practising certificate does not make someone a notary. If your document is for use in the Mainland, read our guide to China-appointed attesting officers.

How to find and check a notary

1. Confirm what the receiving authority wants. Get the requirement in writing, including whether the document needs an apostille afterwards.
2. Find a notary. The Society of Notaries publishes a directory of practising members. It says the directory does not include every notary in Hong Kong, only those who gave the Society their information for publication.
3. Check the appointment. Search the name on the Law Society’s List of Notaries Public. The Society compiles that list from the Certificates of Appointment issued by the High Court, and publishes it to help the public identify and locate notaries.
4. Ask about cost and documents before the meeting. Ask the notary for the fee in writing, and what identification and original documents to bring.
5. Check the finished document. Before you send it abroad, compare it with the receiving authority’s requirement.

Apostilles at the High Court

Some receiving authorities ask for an apostille on top of the notarial certificate. In Hong Kong the apostille is issued by the Apostille Service of the High Court Registry, not by the notary. The Judiciary’s page gives a fee of HK$125 per apostille application, and names the Apostille Service Office at Counter no. 5, LG1/F, High Court Building. The Judiciary runs an e-appointment system for the service. Check the page for current opening hours, documents accepted and fee before you go.

Who can become a notary

Notaries are covered by the Legal Practitioners Ordinance (Cap. 159). The Society of Notaries’ guidance on becoming a notary public says that, under section 40A, an applicant must:

• have been on the roll of solicitors continuously for the whole of the seven years immediately before the application;
• have practised as a solicitor for periods adding up to at least seven years; and
• have passed the examination set by the Society of Notaries’ Council within the year ending on the date of the application.

Appointment and registration then go through the High Court; the Judiciary sets out the steps on its notary public appointment page.

Practising certificates and complaints

The Society of Notaries says its role includes appointing notaries, running the notaries public examination, guiding and monitoring notarial practice, issuing annual practising certificates, and investigating complaints and allegations of professional misconduct by notaries public. If your concern is about notarial work, start with the Society of Notaries. The Law Society’s complaint guidance says it does not investigate solicitors who are not acting as solicitors, and lists notaries as an example. If the same person acted for you as your solicitor, see how to complain to the Law Society.

ranked.hk is not the Law Society, the Society of Notaries or the Judiciary, and this page is not legal advice. A notary must first be a solicitor. You can compare Hong Kong solicitor firms in our law directory, written from each firm’s own website, then check any named notary on the official list and the solicitor on the Law List.